Contour & Co. is a Toronto based multidisciplinary firm founded through the collaboration of a graphic designer and an interior architect. For them the process of experimenting with form and materials is as fulfilling as the finished product. By combining traditional handcraft with the precision of computer software, they bring their products alive in a minimalist design.

When in conversation with Commute Home they always know which questions to ask and when to ask them. We find them very inspiring because of their ability to critique as well as guide. They use familiar objects in unfamiliar ways. Their process and the way they experiment with materials is what makes them and their services truly unique.

You have to admire anyone who will go surfing during the dead of winter; not only are they adventurous but incredibly talented. Their ability to connect people through recreation and design has been very inspiring. While doing so they’ve also developed their own line of clothing catered to their following as well as brought attention to surfing in Canada.

Growing up in the Toronto’s electronic music & rave scene, Jeremy Hernandez allowed this prominent subculture to influence his work. Having been involved in the community since mid-2001 Jeremy enjoys collecting rare rave, club and party flyers.

“I find these types of flyers have an amazing graphic and digital art quality to them, unlike commercial magazines and prints, which I find the graphic art in those mediums are way too conservative. However, in rave flyers I find that to sell you the party, they have to have eye catching flyers to do so.”

Jeremy’s inspiration stemmed from the old-school Frutopia adverts with the kaleidoscopes in the commercials. He remembers generating a fascination with them as a little kid and hearing the drum and bass in the background. This lead to Jeremy attending numerous psytrance festivals like Eclipse in Montreal, and studying the psychedelic art of Alex Grey, which plays a huge influence on his work.

I feel like tattoo, digital, and graffiti artists are completely over looked when it comes to top favourite lists. Everyone goes for the more mainstream and commercial names like Dhali, Van Gogh, Group of Seven. Which are fantastic choices as well, those people were movers and shakers of their time. However, I would say that my picks are probably more “urban” and “street” and are definitely are Canadian. I’m a huge fan of supporting local artists and talent.

This guy is amazing! I discovered him after doing extensive research on where to get cool ink in the city. What really surprises me about him is the fact that he’s not on anyone’s radar. BlogTO I hope you’re taking note! How I judge a tattoo artist is on how they draw the human face and how their composition of their piece tells a story about their creativity. It takes a lot of skill to draw human faces, especially when tattoo artists are doing portraits. They have to be bang on or the smallest off detail can ruin the whole piece and make the face look funny. Roumen’s pieces are brilliant! As far as I’ve seen the majority of his works are in black and white. I remember after seeing hundreds of portfolios of tattoo artists in Toronto, I realized a lot of people are generic and have copy and pasted their styles from somewhere else or haven’t really developed a style and are just doing what they’ve seen in main stream tattoo culture. After a few seconds of being exposed to Roumen’s portfolio, I remember saying out loud “This is it!”. He had that “wow” factor I was looking for! Just the detail that goes into his work and his style makes it pop out. What I love about black and white is that the composition has to be amazing if it’s in black and white. I feel like colour masks any technical imperfections and draws your attention else where and gives the audience the illusion that it’s an amazing piece.

Okay, I’ll admit I’m kinda, sorta cyber/street stalking two artists right now and birdO is definitely one of them! I follow his work religiously on instagram and on the streets of Toronto! His amazing pieces are definitely hidden gems! I love running into his murals and posting them on instagram. I get really good feedback from my followers. I love love LOVE his work! This one time I was having a bad day and was walking in the back streets near Bathurst & Bloor, I remember I was turning a corner and discovering one of his murals and allowed it to lift my spirits. As an artist, I think their job has succeeded if they can invoke that kind of emotion from their audience. I feel like he’s definitely breaking the mould and redefining street art in the city! His work makes you rethink structures and colours. The way we see things and break them down into parts are different in birdO’s interpretation. I’ve honestly never seen a style like his in the graffiti world. So simple, yet very well thought out. He uses a lot of colourful abstract and organic shapes, and draws a lot of his inspiration from animals and things found in nature. When we look at the sky and grass we think blue and green – yet, in birdO’s world anything goes!

The second graffiti artists I’m following religiously are Shalak Attack & Brunosmoky. An amazing couple, just like birdO, they also travel around the world decorating one wall at a time! What draws me to Shalak Attack and Brunosmoky is the realism that they bring into their pieces. When you find one of their hidden gems around the city, they’re usually massive and filled with a lot of colour. It usually takes me a minute or so to take in their work. So much detail and vibrancy to absorb that sometimes I find myself revisiting their pieces to discover something new. What I like about their graffiti is that it usually tells a story. They come up with these amazing characters and avatars that aren’t bounded and restricted by traditional colour concepts. In addition, I like that sometimes you can see the whole colour spectrum in their work. Their work was recently featured in the Toronto Star and Metro newspaper. Shalak Attack & Brunosmoky are gaining in popularity and are definitely pioneers in their scene!

Bridging the gap between high end and hand made, NatalieCrittenden produces high quality, functional leather goods through her brand Haversack Leather. Focusing on small productions, and custom orders, most bags are designed using skins and findings of limited quantities to be sure each piece is unique. Items are never mass produced, and often less than a dozen of each design can be made.

With seven years of theatre costume production experience, Natalie is a confident pattern maker and stitcher, willing to work from sketches to produce custom garments and costumes.

I really respect that Philip is bringing classic tailoring to a younger crowd. It’s really easy to get caught up with trends and disposable fashion, but I really believe that well tailored clothes can be timeless. His clothes have a vintage feel, with a more modern and flattering cut. Investing in a garment that was made to your measurements is the most stylish choice you can make.

I first discovered Hoi bo at the One-of-A-Kind Show in Toronto. I love the clean lines, and sturdy details of these bags that are hand made in Toronto. The waxed cotton will soften and take on character, while the leather gains a beautiful patina with age. This is the kind of bag you own for life. In recent years I’ve noticed waxed canvas has become very popular, but I don’t think anyone else is doing it this well.

Sarah is a brilliant jeweller and metalsmith. While being the owner of The Devil’s Workshop, she creates her own line of jewellery and fills custom orders. You can take her your heirloom jewellery and she will turn it into something wearable and sentimental.

I love that Sarah also runs courses for people who are interested in making their own jewellery. She gives people the opportunity to learn, experiment and create from their own vision.

Anna Church is a New Zealand artist who has been living and loving the creative life in Toronto for the past 3 years. She creates conceptual / photo-based sculptural installations that have little to do with the things they are made-up with.

#JustDontCallMeHipster – Out Of Time 2014

Anna’s work is highly conceptual, but approachable. She manages to illustrate complex ideas and concepts in ways that are easily digestible and tangible for her viewers, creating works that are both layered in meaning, stunningly beautiful, with a tweak of satire thrown in. Anna allows her audience an invitation to create there own personal perspective, you can view her work for face value or look a little harder and start to unravel the layers and meaning which each of her assemblages projects, establishing conversation and reflection uniquely owned and personalised by the viewer.

I have a soft spot for quirky ceramics, so when I discovered Lana’s work through The Artist Project website I was completely intrigued and have since introduced myself and let her know I’m an avid fan! I love her sculptural, whimsical narratives and humour. She approaches themes of transience in shared human-experience; ephemeral states solidified in porcelain, ideas about forbearance and a light poking fun at the human condition. I love meeting arty soul mates, and as Lana so profoundly put our mutual admiration for each others art based mediums as “kindred art spirits with our kaleidescopic visions and animal mockery” – Brilliant. I’m hooked and I cant wait to see what her magical brain comes up with next. Lana has a shared studio at King and Bathurst where she sometimes teaches classes!

Jonathan was one of the first people in the photographic / art scene I meet when I first landed in this great city of Toronto. I’m mad on the photographic medium – I LOVE photography ALL varieties! I love when I discover something that’s new and hasn’t been seen or tried before – and that’s the skill, and the beauty which draws me into the experimental yet simple nature of Jonathan’s work.

Jonathan’s series, The Nature of Urbanity, is what first caught my eye and to really appreciate this work, you have to see at full scale. The prints are huge and have so much richness and detail. You could spend a long time inspecting each image trying to dissect the artistry and trickery that goes into producing each one. They aren’t your typical landscapes, urban scenes, or aerial shots, although they are all three of those things. Everything behind their creation is thought out in advance to support the concept, the subject, the vantage point, the material, the list goes on. The attention to detail really shows.

Jonathan produces his own work and has a growing client list from his print studio/business, Smokestack Studio run out of Hamilton which he jointly owns with his brother (who is also uber artistically clever). They are doing some cool things mixing traditional and contemporary print processes so keep an eye and ear out for that place, or just check them out on Facebook!

Sarah is an artist of note I was lucky enough to have spied when walking by No Foundation on my way to Katharine Mulherin Gallery. Drawn in by the subtlety of her colour pallet and the ceramic display of trophies and oddities in the window, I knew I needed to delve deeper and I’m so glad I did! I love a multi-disciplinary artist, and Sarah is certainly that. She uses a variety of media from drawing and animation, to ceramics and installation, Sarah’s work most often takes form in narrative watercolour drawings. Her work is included in private and public collections internationally and has been shown in Canada, USA and Europe. She has participated in residencies across North America and abroad and is LA bound next. Burwash lives in Halifax, NS, working full time as an artist and freelance illustrator.

Her practice encompasses a lifestyle that approaches all things with intention, creativity and a pioneer spirit. Beautiful, thoughtful and totally wantable!

His new work is like Bosch, in that there is so much going on at once that you can barely keep up with it. Imagine if Bosch were on cocaine and addicted to television. I feel like Joe’s work pisses a lot of people off, but that’s kind of the point. He’s painting all the things you’re thinking but never talk about, to anyone, not even your therapist. I own several pieces from several stages of his career, some are more disturbing than others, they are a constant reminder to listen to the voices in my head instead of worrying about what people like.

Pop art that’s been boiled, or shredded, or twice baked. Andy’s work takes elements of the magazine world and reassembles them in fragmented impossibility or kaleidoscopic madness. He paints in a very direct and deliberate way, so he’s not messing about, he knows exactly what he’s doing, which is reassuring when you’re balancing things on mountain tops. Andy’s work makes me consider colour and how I use it.

You know when you’re looking at encaustic painting and you’re thinking, “yeah.. and?” – well Nicole is the answer to that. She has been pulling at the seams of what painting with wax is really capable of, and how much we can take as an audience. She’s pulling it apart, scraping it off, and forcing it into uncomfortable positions, it seems cathartic and violent at times and tranquil and meditative at others. Her work informs my own more and more every time I encounter it with her fearless and unorthodox approaches.

This is really cool. A music label in Germany has used the nostalgia and general cool-factor of vinyl in a hyper technological way. The result–a very successful ad campaign and a record player that is materialized out of paper and played through a smart phone!